When the great library of Alexandria亚历山大 burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers.
The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum牛皮纸 on which was written the secret of the "Touchstone试金石，标准"!
The touchstone was a small pebble鹅卵石 that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.
So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles.
He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.
The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about midafternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant警醒的, it's easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业16：Unit 1《Laughter is good for you》（牛津译林版选修6湖南专用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业14：Unit 2《The environment》（牛津译林版必修5湖南专用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答36：Module 6《War and Peace》（外研版选修6通用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业23：Unit 4《Public transport》（牛津译林版选修7湖南专用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答28：Module 4《Carnival》（外研版选修5通用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业19：Unit 4《Helping people around the world》（牛津译林版选修6湖南专用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业6：Unit 6《Design》（北师大版必修2通用版）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答32：Module 2《Fantasy Literature》（外研版选修6通用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答35：Module 5《Cloning》（外研版选修6通用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业3：Unit 3《Celebration》（北师大版必修1通用版）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业4：Unit 4《Cyberspace》（北师大版必修2通用版）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业26：Unit 1《Art》（新人教版选修6陕西专用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业25：Unit 2《The universal language》（牛津译林版选修8湖南专用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业23：Unit 3《Life in the future》（新人教版必修5陕西专用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答47：Module 5《The Conquest of the Universe》（外研版选修8通用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答4：Unit 4《Earthquakes》（新人教版必修1通用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业18：Unit 3《Understanding each other》（牛津译林版选修6湖南专用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业11：Unit 2《Sports events》（牛津译林版必修4湖南专用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业24：Unit 1《The written word》（牛津译林版选修8湖南专用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业1：Unit 1《Lifestyles》（北师大版必修1通用版）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业27：Unit 4《Films and film events》（牛津译林版选修8湖南专用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业6：Unit 6《Design》（北师大版必修2通用版）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业25：Unit 5《First aid》（新人教版必修5陕西专用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答2：Unit 2《English around the world》（新人教版必修1通用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业13：Unit 1《Getting along with others》（牛津译林版必修5湖南专用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业24：Unit 4《Making the news》（新人教版必修5陕西专用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答46：Module 4《Which English？》（外研版选修8通用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业详答30：Module 6《Animals in Danger》（外研版选修5通用）
2017届高考英语一轮复习课时作业26：Unit 3《The world of colours and light》（牛津译林版选修8湖南专用）
2017年高考英语一轮复习课时作业5：Unit 5《Rhythm》（北师大版必修2通用版）